1.
Dasharatha, King of Aydohya, has three wives and four sons. Rama is the eldest.
His mother is Kaushalya. Bharata is the son of his second and favorite wife,
Queen Kaikeyi. The other two are twins, Lakshman and Shatrughna. Rama and
Bharata are blue, perhaps indicating they were dark skinned or originally south
Indian deities.
2)
A sage takes the boys out to train them in archery. Rama has hit an apple
hanging from a string.
3)
In a neighboring city the ruler's daughter is named Sita. When it was time for
Sita to choose her bridegroom, at a ceremony called a swayamvara, the princes
were asked to string a giant bow. No one else can even lift the bow, but as
Rama bends it, he not only strings it but breaks it in two. Sita indicates she
has chosen Rama as her husband by putting a garland around his neck. The
disappointed suitors watch.
4)
King Dasharatha, Rama's father, decides it is time to give his throne to his
eldest son Rama and retire to the forest to seek moksha. Everyone seems
pleased. This plan fulfills the rules of dharma because an eldest son should
rule and, if a son can take over one's responsibilities, one's last years may
be spent in a search for moksha. In addition, everyone loves Rama. However
Rama's step-mother, the king's second wife, is not pleased. She wants her son,
Bharata, to rule. Because of an oath Dasharatha had made to her years before,
she gets the king to agree to banish Rama for fourteen years and to crown
Bharata, even though the king, on bended knee, begs her not to demand such
things. Broken-hearted, the devastated king cannot face Rama with the news and
Kaikeyi must tell him.
5)
Rama, always obedient, is as content to go into banishment in the forest as to
be crowned king. Sita convinces Rama that she belongs at his side and his
brother Lakshman also begs to accompany them. Rama, Sita and Lakshman set out
for the forest.
Bharata,
whose mother's evil plot has won him the throne, is very upset when he finds
out what has happened. Not for a moment does he consider breaking the rules of
dharma and becoming king in Rama's place. He goes to Rama's forest retreat and
begs Rama to return and rule, but Rama refuses. "We must obey
father," Rama says. Bharata then takes Rama's sandals saying, "I will
put these on the throne, and every day I shall place the fruits of my work at
the feet on my Lord." Embracing Rama, he takes the sandals and returns to
Aydohya.
6)
Years pass and Rama, Sita and Lakshman are very happy in the forest. Rama and
Lakshman destroy the rakshasas (evil creatures) who disturb the sages in their
meditations. One day a rakshasa princess tries to seduce Rama, and Lakshmana
wounds her and drives her away. She returns to her brother Ravana, the ten-headed
ruler of Lanka (Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon), and tells her brother (who has a
weakness for beautiful women) about lovely Sita.
Ravana
devises a plan to abduct Sita. He sends a magical golden deer which Sita
desires. Rama and Lakshman go off to hunt the deer, first drawing a protective
circle around Sita and warning her she will be safe as long as she does not
step outside the circle. As they go off, Ravana (who can change his shape)
appears as a holy man begging alms. The moment Sita steps outside the circle to
give him food, Ravana grabs her and carries her off the his kingdom in Lanka.
7)
Rama is broken-hearted when he returns to the empty hut and cannot find Sita. A
band of monkeys offer to help him find Sita.
Ravana has carried Sita to his palace in Lanka, but he cannot force her to be his wife so he puts her in a grove and alternately sweet-talks her and threatens her in an attempt to get her to agree to marry him. Sita will not even look at him but thinks only of her beloved Rama. Hanuman, the general of the monkey band can fly since his father is the wind, and Hanuman flies to Lanka and, finding Sita in the grove, comforts her and tells her Rama will soon come and save her.
Ravana has carried Sita to his palace in Lanka, but he cannot force her to be his wife so he puts her in a grove and alternately sweet-talks her and threatens her in an attempt to get her to agree to marry him. Sita will not even look at him but thinks only of her beloved Rama. Hanuman, the general of the monkey band can fly since his father is the wind, and Hanuman flies to Lanka and, finding Sita in the grove, comforts her and tells her Rama will soon come and save her.
8)
Ravana's men capture Hanuman, and Ravana orders them to wrap Hanuman's tail in
cloth and to set it on fire. With his tail burning, Hanuman hops from house-top
to house-top, setting Lanka afire. He then flies back to Rama to tell him where
Sita is.
9)
Rama, Lakshman and the monkey army build a causeway from the tip of India to
Lanka and cross over to Lanka. A might battle ensues. Rama kills several of
Ravana's brothers and then
Rama confronts ten-headed Ravana. (Ravana is known for his wisdom as well as for his weakness for women which may explain why he is pictured as very brainy.) Rama finally kills Ravana.
Rama confronts ten-headed Ravana. (Ravana is known for his wisdom as well as for his weakness for women which may explain why he is pictured as very brainy.) Rama finally kills Ravana.
10).
Rama frees Sita. After Sita proves here purity, they return to Ayodhya and Rama
becomes king. His rule, Ram-rajya, is an ideal time when everyone does his or
her dharma and "fathers never have to light the funeral pyres for their
sons."
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